Falling
by darkonesroses
Summary: Regina hadn't been lying about Belle being tortured in the tower. But this time, Rumple saves her from falling to her death.
1. Chapter 1

"You have such flimsy locks, Rumple," Regina smirked as she walked in. Rumplestiltskin said nothing as he turned back to his spinning wheel.

"I have a deal to discuss," Regina continued as she began to serve herself tea. "a certain...mermaid..."

"I'm not dealing today," rumple said softly. He wasnt in the mood for making deals. Not without Belle around...

"Are you angry with me?" Regina asked. Rumple glanced over his shoulder and then back to his work. "What is is this time?"

"Your little deception failed," Rumple stopped the wheel to look at her. "You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, dearie. You're never gonna beat me."

"Ooh," Regina said patronizingly, "Is this about that girl I met on the road?"

Rumple went back to the wheel. Regina smirked.

"What was her name? Margie? Verna..."

"...Belle..."

Regina looked at him, a little surprised. "Right..." she said. Finished making her tea, she began to wander around the room. "Well, you can rest assured I'm not the one toruring her: that's her father."

The wheel stopped instantly. Rumple spun around, the confusion, anger, and worry quite plain on his face.

"What?" he asked, going up to her. "What torture?"

"Haven't you heard?" Regina said cooly. "After she got home, her fiance had gone missing. And after her stay here, with her... 'association' with you, no one would want her, ofcourse."

_I would want her... _Rumple's heart whispered.

"Her father is so _cruel_ to her," Regina continued. "He locked her in a tower, and has clerics trying to clense her soul of you. I don't totally know what's going on, but something about scourges and flaying... burning and knives... I'm surprised she's still alive. But I doubt she will be for much longer."

Rumple was perfectly still on the outside, but on the inside his heart was racing, his head spinning and pounding, his stomach twisting into a thousand little knots and everything was screaming one thing.

_Belle is in danger._

* * *

Another crack of the whip.

"22," the cleric said.

Another lash. Belle barely had the strength to grimace at the pain coursing through her body.

"23... 24...25."

She could hear the cleric put the whip down and step over to her.

"Have we had enough little princess?" he asked, his breath reeking of strong wines and rotten leaves. "This can all be over if you just let the demons in your body out. This love you have for the Dark One is not real, but a dark curse in your soul. You need to release it from you and you will be free."

With tears sliding down her face, Belle whispered,

"No... I love him."

The cleric seemed to growl and grow more irritated at her resistance.

"Perhaps we should come back with a stonger method. Whipping isn't doing anything," the second cleric said.

"Agreed," said the third. "Let her rest. We shall come back in a few hours."

"Very well," said the first, and he grabbed a fistfull of her hair, jerking her head up to look him in the eyes. His eyes were dark against his pale skin, all the more menacing.

"We'll be back. We must clense her of this monster." and he threw her back down before they exited the tower room, the door locking behind them.

Belle lay there on the ground, tears seeping from her eyes. She was not cursed. There was no monster inside her heart. It was real, she knew it. She knew that she loved Rumplestiltskin. But they... they didn't understand. She didn't need to be clensed, she needed healing, both in her body and her heart. He had broken her heart, but she still loved him. There _was _good in him, there had to be. If only he could see.

She lifted and turned her head as much as she was able to the lone window on her left. They had left it open just a crack, but it was open. Belle realised now that she had a choice: to stay here in the tower and continue to be tortured, or... jump to her death. Oh, death was better than this, better than the pain, and the fires, and cruel words, and suffering. But to die... Belle had never wished for death. She was not afraid of it, for it happened to all eventually, but to kill herself... There was no other choice. She had tried calling for Rumplestitskin, but he was not comeing. He didn't want her anymore. Her father did not want her, it had been he that told the clerics to torture her. Gaston would not save her, he was missing. There was only one choice. Death.

Belle pulled herself across the stone floors very slowly, for her numerous injuries pained and slowed her every move. But she reached the window and forced it open enough so she could fit. Pushing herself up onto the sill she looked down. It was so high up, she had trouble making out where the ground was. She knew it was all but barren down there, the land still healing from the oger attacks, even though it had been months since then. She just hoped it wouldn't hurt as much as she thought it could.

Then she raised her oeacn eyes to the skies. Stars. There were beautiful stars up there, shining and twinkling at her, the moon bright and full. She had seen the stars before, but never had they looked so...beautiful, so peaceful. They were welcoming her to join them when she died. New tears seeped from her eyes and for the first time since she left rumple's castle...

She smiled. She really smiled. She would be free soon. She wouldn't have to live with the pain of lashings and hurtful words whispered in her ears by the clerics. She closed her eyes. She felt like she should say something, one last thing. She thought of saying goodbye to her father, her nurse, her maids, Gaston (wherever he may be). But instead she only whispered one thing.

"Rumplestiltskin... I love you."

And she pushed herself off the ledge.


	2. Chapter 2

Rumple found window to the room Belle was locked in. He wasn't sure how to go around this. Should he barge in and scare the daylights out of the clerics? Should he appear at the window and sneak in when the clerics are gone and it's just him and Belle? He was conflicted about even being here. What if Regina was lying and this was just a plot to humiliate him? He was starting to leave when he suddenly heard a whisper.

"_Rumplestiltskin...I love you."_

That was Belle's voice. He looked up at the window, and he could see something falling. A figure of a body. Belle. Rumple's heart tightened and his stomach twisted as he saw her. She was going to die from the fall!

"BELLE!" he screamed and conjured a cloud of purple smoke that engulfed him from the thighs down. It lifted him off the ground and he raced up towards his beloved's falling form. He met her half way between the window and the ground and without a moment's hesitation he caught her in his arms, the memory of catching her from the ladder in the back of his mind.

She screamed out in pain when he caught her, and a look at her explained why. She was mutilated, bruises, scars, deep wounds, and a fresh set of whip lashes on her back. His Belle was in pain...and it was all his fault.

"Belle?! Belle can you hear me?!" he asked, the painic clear in his voice. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes opened for a fleeting moment.

"Rrrum...ple?" she murmured. Rumple let out a breath he had no idea he had been holding.

"It's me, Belle," he whispered. "I've got you. I will catch you... and this time, I will never let you go."

* * *

The trip back to the castle was a short one, meerly whisking her away with magic and appearing in her old bedroom, which was left untouched. Even the book she hadn't finished reading when she left hadn't been moved back to the shelf. Rumple very carefully laid her stomach down on the soft golden covers, wincing when she let out a whimper of pain.

"It'll be alright, Belle," he whispered and held his hand out over ther back where the whip lashes were. "It'll be alright."

With his hand glowing the familiar purple-blue color, Belle's wounds healed and closed up beneath it. He could hear her sighing, releived, and he moved his hand up and down her back. Soon, the lashes were gone, not even a scar was left, leaving her skin creamy and pale once more. Doing the same to every injury he coul find without undressing her, he healed her of her father's mutilation. Oh, Maurice would pay dearly for this... He could wait until Belle was better to unleash his wrath upon Maurice. He didn't want to leave her, didn't to desert her again. She was too important to him, knowing he had almost lost her forever...

A touch to her forehead revealed that she was burning with fever. Rumple hurried to his potion tables, which he had moved to the library to be closer to Belle. Searching through the glass bottles, he foun the green-yellow-gray one that smelled like lemons and mud, and tasted like dish water. It would heal her from her fever in a frew days if she stayed rested and fed. Food. She must be _starving. _Conjuring a tray of broth and water and bread, Rumple went back to her room.

She looked so frail, so thin, so broken even without her injuies. She was limp and weak and needed a bath. Wasn't it only a few weeks ago that she was healthy and smiling at him with those oceans of eyes? Before her father had tortured her...before he had thrown her out.

'Oh, gods, what was I thinking?' he asked himself as he gently sat her up and slowly coaxed her to drink a spoonful of the medicine, which she grimmaced at. When she got better, she would leave him again, never to return. She would hate him for throwing her out and say it was all his fault that she had been hurt. If he had just accepted her love, he wouldn't have thrown her out. If he had just kept her in the castle, they would have been happy together. If he had never met her, he wouldn't have to deal with all of this pain he felt for both of them. No wonder she hated him.

She threw up her first few swallows of the broth, making Rumple feel sick to his stomach as well. Cleaning the mess with magic, he tried again to feed her, and this time she managed to keep most of it down. He had done this to her. He had cast her out and had her suffer through all of this. It was his fault... His...

"I'm sorry..." he whispered as he held her close. "I'm so sorry, Belle. This is all my fault..."

She didn't so much as twitch in responce, but he knew he didn't have the courage to say this to her when she was awake.

"I'm sorry for everything," he continued. "I'm sorry I ruined your life, I'm sorry I was such a cold-hearted bastard. I'm sorry I threw you out... More than anything, I'm sorry I didn't accept your love... I love you, Belle. I love you more than anything, and I'm sorry I can't tell this to your face... I'm such a coward, Belle, how can you love me?"

But there was no answer from her. He laid there with her in his arms, finally letting the tears stream down as he whispered "I'm sorry" and "I love you."

* * *

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!" Maurice screamed at the clerics. Belle hadn't been there when they went to try clensing her again.

"We don't know, sire!" the first said. "She just wasn't there!"

"Well, the window was open..." the second piped in.

"Yes, I know that, but the guards never found her body if she jumped!" Maurice yelled. "She couldn't have just disappeared out of thin air! Are you sure the door was locked?!" "I locked it myself, sire," said the first one.

"Then how did she escape?!" Maurice yelled.

"Save your breath, Maurice," a new voice said. "They don't know where she is, but I do."

The whole room turned and looked for the person who had spoken. It was Queen Regina, who had come to visit Maurice and ask about Belle.

"You know where she is?" Maurice asked, going over to her. Regina smiled that sly smile of a fox.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "That monster Rumplestiltskin has stolen her back to his castle, no doubt to taint her soul more with his evil doings."

"Oh no..." Maurice's eyes widened and his hand flew to his forehead. "How could I not suspect that! Ofcourse he would steal her back. He wants to have his way with her and inflict more of his darkness on her!"

"I know how hard this must be for you," Regina purred and stroked his arm comfortingly. "I can't imagine what it must be like, having your daughter come home under a curse, saying she loved that monster. No doubt he had been using her body for his own pleasures and then cast that spell on her. He must have taken her back to the castle for more pleasantries..."

"No!" Maurice cried. "I can't let that happen again! Guards! Ready my men! We are going to the Dark Castle!"

* * *

**Hello everyone! I can't belive this has like 10 followers already! guess i better get typing! thank you all so much for your support, i'm so happy people like my work! up next; how will belle react when she finds that rumple saved her?**

**hugs and loves!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was so warm. She laid on something soft and silky. She could hear birds softly twittering somewhere. Where was she? Was this Heaven? Belle wanted to open her eyes and look around but wherever she was was so comfortable and soft and warm that she wanted to lay there all day. Against her own will, her eyes slowly opened...and then widened. Her room. She was laying in her old room from Rumple's castle! She quickly sat up, wincing at the protests of her aching muscles, and looked around. Everything was _exactly _as she had left it! She looked at herself and saw that her skin was perfectly healed, not so much as a needle prick or a scar from the clerics! What on earth...?

"Belle?"a familiar voice asked. Belle turned her head and saw a figure looking at her from the window sill. It was him. Rumplestiltskin.

"Rumple..." she breathed and stared at him with eyes as wide as dinner plates. Her heart raced to see him again but her mind became angry. He had thrown her out, yelled at her, broken her heart. He had never come to save her when she had screamed his name in pain, hadn't cared to listen. And now he had taken her to the castle?

"Belle, how are you feeling?" he asked, his voice so gentle and soft, and he sat down next to her on the bed.

"What... What happened?" she whispered.

"I... I saw you falling from the tower," he said. "So I saved you, healed you, brought you back. I couldn't let you die, Belle..." Their eyes locked for a long while. He reached up and felt her forehead, checking for fever.

That was when Belle suddenly slapped him across the face, making him jerk back, more of fear than pain.

"W-W-What was that?!" he asked.

"How could you?!" she said, her voice hoarse and cracking. "You're just like my father, deciding my life for me! You just expect me to come running back to your arms after what you did to me?!"

Her words there had hurt him. She could see the pain in his eyes.

"Belle... Please, listen, I-" he began, but she didn't let him get that far.

"No, you listen!" she said. "You kicked me out six weeks ago, and I have been through Hell and back, so you will listen to me! Because of you, my father thinks I'm cursed! He locked me in a tower and told those clerics to 'cleanse' me! They burned me, they whipped my, they beat me!" There were tears streaming down her face now, and she felt lightheaded. "I couldn't take it anymore. I needed help, and it certainly wasn't going to be you to help me. I decided my fate... I... I jumped from the window." She then lost control and broke down sobbing, burying her face in her hands. "I wanted to die, Rumplestiltskin. I wanted to end my life because no one wants me anymore. Not Gaston, not my father... Not even you. No one..."

She then looked up at him with fire in her eyes, looking like an enraged warrior. "And then you come in and tell me you 'couldn't let me die'. You just made the choice for me, never once thinking about what I felt or wanted. And what I wanted was to end my life, because you certainly don't want me in yours. So don't tell me you 'couldn't let me die' when you don't care about me."

Belle gave him one last look before laying down on the bed and turning away from him.

"Just go, Dark One," she said. "I just want to be alone."

"Belle... Please..." he asked quietly, the defeat in his voice quite clear.

"I said go!" she snapped. She could feel him flinch and then leave the room. As soon as he was gone, Belle started sobbing again and buried her face in the pillows.

"Oh, Rumple..." she whispered. "I love you, but I don't want to be owned or controlled anymore and I don't want to be with someone who doesn't want me."

Rumple took the walking stick and began to smash the nearest object, which was the glass cabinet that holds a lot of precious objects. But he didn't care. He swings the stick again and again and again, blinded by his rage. Just like when he had thrown Belle out of the castle. He found himself surrounded by shattered glass. He sunk to the ground and held his head in his hands. He was an idiot. He knew she hated him, she always had. But it just hurt so much more to hear it.

What she said wasn't true, though. He did want her in his life, he just... he couldn't show it. He cared for her more than anything in this world and yet he couldn't tell her because of his damn cowardice. Why did he have to be a coward? Why couldn't he be a strong, brave man, one she deserved? Why couldn't he be a man and not a monster who couldn't kiss her? Why did nothing ever go right? Rubbing his temples, he closed his eyes. She deserved so much more than him, that was part of the reason he had let her go. She was so beautiful, so kind, so sweet, so damn _perfect_. She needed some handsome, perfect, strong prince to whisk her away on a white horse into the sunset; not an ugly, old monster who could offer nothing but darkness and evil ways. This was he got for falling in love, heartbreak and anger and a woman who wanted nothing to do with him. Just perfect.

He didn't know how long he had sat there on the glass, but he finally cleaned everything up with magic. He needed something to do, for destroying things wasn't going to help. He finally decided to sit at his wheel and began his signature task of spinning straw into gold. It helped soothe his mind a bit, calming his nerves, but it did not stop his thoughts about what he should do to make things better.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days were dedicated to making Belle at least more comfortable in the castle. She was still rather weak to leave bed, so... He moved the bed to the library while she slept. He had hoped that being closer to the books, her spirits would lift and have her slowly begin to at least trust him again. In the morning he brought her breakfast up to the library, expecting to see her smiling at all the books. Instead, she was glaring at him angrily.

"You moved my bed to the library?!" she said. "You think that'll fix everything?"

"What? No, of course not, I-"

"So if you just give me nice things, then I'll love you again and we'll go back to being master and caretaker?"

"Belle, it's not like that! I want you to be happy, and I did this so you would be, and to apologize for-"

"For what? For throwing me out? You're not sorry, Dark One."

"But I-"

"You're _not_ sorry. If you were sorry you would have come for me sooner. You wouldn't have kicked me out in the first place if you were 'sorry'. You aren't sorry for being a coward, Dark One, you're quite content at hiding behind your power."

Oh, how her words cut at him. It felt like a thousand spears had just been rained onto his heart. Hearing her say all of those awful things to him...

"Take me back to my room." she said. "Tricks like this, to get me back into your life you don't want me, in isn't going to work."

"Belle-"  
"Now!"

Rumple visibly flinched and looked at her for a little more before she, the bed, and the breakfast tray were suddenly in her bedroom. There was no sign of the sorcerer. That afternoon, he had written her a letter and sent it to her on her lunch tray, describing how sorry he was, and his feelings for her, and how much he wanted her in his life.

She didn't even open the envelope.

At tea time the next day, he went to her himself and bluntly told her he was sick of her being an "inconsiderate, rude, whiny, arrogant, and complaining little bitch." This resulted in an argument that caused her to throw the whole tea set at him, save to the chipped cup, which he hadn't brought up. Afterward he had gone downstairs and destroyed the cabinet again, along with whacking the corner of the long table with a sword until the corner fell off. All of this could be fixed by magic, but his heart couldn't...

"Oh, Rumple, you poor, silly man," Regina chuckled as she looked into her mirror. Mirror magic was a bit trickier when there wasn't a mirror on the other side, but with the right practice, she could see what was going on in The Dark Castle. She watched Rumple's failed attempts to get his maid back into his arms and she couldn't help but laugh. It was a pointless pursuit. Belle would never take him back after what he had done. Regina would make sure of that. When Maurice and his men were dealing with Rumple, she would sneak away, find his Belle, and take her heart from her chest, so she could never love again. He would suffer with the same pain that she had, never being loved by the one he loved. And if he tried to take the heart back, she would crush it to dust, killing his sweet Belle. And of course, that was only part of her plan...

"Regina?" Maurice asked, interrupting her thoughts. "Would you know the quickest way to the Dark Castle? I'm not sure which route to take."

Regina thought for a minute. "...Yes. Yes I believe I do." She went over to the maps Maurice was looking at and looked them over. There were plenty of ways to the Dark Castle, and a few of them were by magic, but Regina wasn't going to let Maurice waste her magic on this trip. The many roads that they could take, all of them at least a day or two. Regina looked for the longest one that would take more time. She pointed to the road marked "Hobblefoot's pass".

"There," she said. "That is the way to his castle."

"Hobblefoot's? That'll take a week!" Maurice said.

"A week worth spent on the road if we want to have the element of surprise," Regina said. "If we take the main road, Rumplestiltskin will see us coming, because his castle faces all of them. If we take the pass, we sneak up behind the castle and he won't see us. And he won't be able to put up any more magical boundaries."

"I see what you mean," Maurice said. "Thank you, Regina. We'll take Hobblefoot's pass."

"Excellent," Regina smiled. A weeks more time with Belle might let Rumple fall in love with her all over again, giving her the perfect chance to make it hurt more when she took Belle's heart.


	5. Chapter 5

Rumplestiltskin awoke to the screams of his true love. Belle was letting out blood curdling screams and it tore Rumple to pieces. In a flash he was in her room, not even caring he was still in his night clothes. Belle was on the bed, thrashing wildly, but her eyes screwed tight. She was having a nightmare, he realized. She let out another scream and rumple rushed to her side, scooping her up in his arms.

"Belle?! Belle wake up!" he said. "It's a bad dream, sweetheart, wake up!"

In a few moments, Belle's eyes snapped open, gasping and sobbing. She stopped thrashing, but she was shaking violently. Rumple held her close.

"Belle?" he asked. She looked up at him, and after a moment, she shoved him away, hurting him from the heart.

"Get away from me!" she said. "I don't need you to comfort me!"

"Belle please!" he said. "Just let me apologize!"

"Why should you say you're sorry when you're really not?"

"Because I am sorry!" he said. He sighed and hung his head. Yelling at her wasn't going to help. He had to apologize. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Her anger almost forgotten, Belle stared at him.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Belle, for everything..." he was whispering. "I'm sorry I... I yelled at you... I threw you out... I left you to a fate worse than death... And I'm sorry, Belle. I made a stupid mistake, the stupidest of my life. It's twice now I've chosen power over love... But I love you, Belle. I love you and it tears me apart to know that you hate me, that you want nothing to do with me... but you have every right to... When you get your strength back, you're free to go. You've been locked up long enough." He got up and headed for the door. "...I want you to be happy, Belle. I know now you'll never be happy with me, no matter how many times I save you. So... go be happy without me." It took everything Rumple had not to turn around and go back in once he had left.

Belle was at a loss for words. She realized how harsh she had been. He truly cared for her, he loved her! He had said it himself! He had admitted letting her go was a mistake, and he only wanted to make her happy. So he was going to let her go _again _when she healed. He hadn't begged her to stay, hadn't threatened her, hadn't done anything. He would just let her go...

So what was she still doing there?

Without a second thought, she got up, shaking on her knees, and ran after him as fast as she could. Luckily it wasn't that far for he wasn't in a hurry to get back to his room.

"Rumple!" she said, and he turned, his eyes wide with shock. He had been expecting her to forget this ever happened and still hate him in the morning. Instead, she threw herself into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go again. He seemed frozen, like when she had hugged him in the forest after he spared the life of a thief.

"I'm sorry," Belle said, which stunned him even more.

"You're sorry?" he breathed. "For what? I was the one who—"

"Shh," she said. "Rumple, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have pushed you away and just let you speak. You... You do love me, don't you?"

"...Yes," he said, and his arms slowly curled around her waist. "Yes, Belle, I do."

"And I love you," she said. "I'm sorry for yelling and shoving you away. I should have known your intentions were good and feeling were true. There's good in you, Rumplestiltskin. I was just blinded by my fear and anger that I didn't see it the way I used to."

He sighed happily. "Belle, you're too good for me," he said. "Come on, let's get you back to bed." Before she could say anything, he swept her up off the floor and cradled her in his arms, carrying her to bed. She giggled and rested her head against his chest. It was a huge relief now that they had apologized. They still had a long way to go, but at least there was so much tension released. He laid her on her bed and was about to turn to leave when she grabbed his hand.

"Stay," she whispered. "In case I have another nightmare. Please..."

He paused for a moment then nodded, slowly climbing into bed with her. If there had been more light, she would have seen his cheeks turning and even deeper shade of gold green.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Belle woke up with her right arm draped across Rumplestiltskin, her left cheek pressed onto his chest. Oh, this was perfect. She couldn't count how many times she had wanted to wake up like this... though maybe her fantasies had been with both of them having no clothes, but this was perfect. She smiled softly and looked up to his face to find he was still asleep. He looked so calm and peaceful when he slept, almost human. She tried to imagine what he looked like without the gold green skin and wild hair. She had seen a glimpse of it just once when they had first kissed... before he had...

She shook off the thought. That was all in the past, she hoped. She continued to watch him sleep, and then her eyes fell to his lips. She wondered... if she could kiss him again. She loved him, that was certain, and he loved her, which was also certain. Did that mean, since he didn't think that she was working for Regina, that they could kiss? She had felt his lips once and they were wonderful. Would she ever feel that again?

She didn't have long to think about it, however, because he began to stir and opened up his big brown eyes. He looked at her and smiled softly.

"Good morning, dearie," he said.

"Good morning," she smiled. "Sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a long time," he said, and began to sit up.

"Do we have to get up today?" she yawned. "I like laying here." He chuckled.

"Sorry dearie, but I have deals to make later. And we should get some breakfast." With the wave of his hand, he was fully dressed, and with a second wave she was in a comfortable and warm light green dress.

"Mm, breakfast does sound good..." she said softly, stretching out her limbs. She was strong enough to walk now, but before she could get up, he picked her up and carried her out of the room, swinging her around playfully. She shrieked with laughter and tried to hold onto his shoulders and he lazily lumbered down the hall to the stairs. He was laughing. He was really laughing as he played with her. His laughter was not the high, nasally giggle that he often used. This laugh was much deeper, much more human, and Belle loved it. She loved _him_.

They reached the main room where he conjured a chair to place her on. When she was seated, a lovely breakfast of eggs in a basket and fruit and bread appeared before them, and they began to eat.

"The place is looking dusty again, Rumple," Belle commented, looking around.

"Mm. I haven't gotten a new house maid." he sighed.

"Well we cant have you falling in love all over a new house maid again, so I guess I'll have to do the job." she smiled.

"You wont be working here, Belle," Rumple said. "You will no longer be my caretaker or a maid or a servant. You will be my guest."

"Still," Belle said smiling, "The place could use a cleaning."

"Well, everything is right were you left it."

They sat in silence for a while, not sure what else to say. It had always been this awkward, so it wasn't anything new. Before their first kiss, it had taken months to just talk to him. Unless she started the conversation, he never spoke a word, other than to yell at her or give her an order.

"I see you kept the curtains down," she commented, looking out the windows. It was turning into summer now, and she could see birds flying past. If she arched her neck she could see the gardens, which she had rarely been to.

"I got used to it. It...reminded me of you," he said, looking down at his plate which was now empty. She looked at him.

"You... You really missed me, didn't you?" she asked softly.

"...With every beat of my heart," he whispered.

Belle could feel her heart aching at that.

"I missed you too," she said. He looked at her for a few moments before looking back to the window.

"It's ah... rather nice day out... Why don't we go for a walk together?" he said rather awkwardly. She smiled softly.

"I'd like that," she said.

"In that case," he said. "Finish your breakfast."

She looked at him with mock-irritation. "Giving me orders now, Dark One?"

He lowered his head and concentrated on his food. She laughed and ate. It was silent again for a little while before she said that she needed a bath and headed upstairs. The tub was already full with deliciously warm water with rose oil. It felt so wonderful to sink in the water and just relax. After her bath she dressed herself. She wished she had a mirror. She had never been a vain woman, but it would be nice to know how she looked when she was with the man she loved. So she tied her hair back in a ribbon and hopped it would do.

He smiled at her as he saw her coming down the stairs. She smiled back. Holding out his arm, he looked different. Not just his clothes, which were warm earth tones, not that he looked human when she had kissed him, but something was different. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

They exited the castle and headed into the gardens. It was such a lovely day. Warm and with the sun shinning up above. Belle smiled and enjoyed it, having not been outside for weeks. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting the sunlight kiss her face. She had missed this so much.

Rumplestiltskin's views were rather different. Ever since he had lost Bae, he had refrained from coming out during the day. The brightness reminded him too much of his beloved boy. The only time he came out was to make his deals and even then he preferred to stay indoors. The bright sunlight exposed his horrid, unnatural appearance, making his skin sparkle more and he hated that. But anything to make his Belle happy, to get her to trust him again. To help her forget the past six weeks.

They began to walk through the gardens, which hadn't been tended to at all since she had left. There were weeds sprouting up everywhere and some of the bushes and flowers were dying. The fountain's water was filthy and green and the walkways needed to be swept. But Belle could care less. She would work on the gardens later. Now she just enjoyed the wonderful sensation of being outside once more. After a bit she looked around.

"Looks like I'll have to start getting back to work," she said as she put her hand on her hip, looking at a half dead rosemary bush.

"You don't have to do anything, you know" he said. "You don't work for me anymore."

"You've said that, but I want to." she said. "It'll give me something to do."

"As long as you're not going to try to spend so much time outside to plan your escape," he said, completely joking. She chuckled.

"...Not like I have any place to escape to now. I like it better here anyway. This is my home now," she said, looking at him.

"...You would want a home with me?" he asked. She nodded as if it was nothing and she began to walk on her own. She came across something very familiar. It was the rose that he had given her the day he had let her go. He had planted it, and it was slowly growing into a bush. She smiled wide.

"You kept it!" she smiled at him. He nodded.

"I kept everything of yours," he said. "Everything so I...so I didn't forget you. Didn't lose you."

She stood up and looked at him.

"I... I waited for you to serve me tea... I turned to tell you something funny during a deal... I tried to find you in the library... but you weren't there..." he said, looking down at his shoes. "You-You were being tortured, burned and whipped and I...I did nothing. I didn't even see if you were alright..."

She looked at him and slowly held his hand.

"I...I can never stop saying how sorry I am." he continued. "It's... It's all my fault. You were hurt because of me. I threw you out and-and left you to face your father alone... I should have foreseen this, I should have..."

"Rumple," she said softly, turning his face to her, "I don't blame you. I don't."

"How can you not?" he asked. "Everything is my fault and I could have stopped it if I had just-" He was cut off by her finger on his lips.

"Rumple, before you start beating yourself up again, let me say something," she said. "Yes, you threw me out. But I didn't go straight to my father's. I stayed at an inn, and I... I went to taverns and drank and tried to forget my misery. I even... I went and tracked down the Yaogui, and defeated it, sort of. But then I realized that I... I wanted to go home."

"So then you went to your father's castle," he said.

"No," she shook her head. "I was going to come home to you. But then Queen Regina..."

Rumple visibly stiffened.

"...She captured me and took me to my father's castle," Belle continued. "She told him that you had placed me under some spell that made me love you, and convinced him to lock me up and 'cleanse' me."

"Regina..." he said, deep in thought. She nodded.

"So you didn't cause this," she said. "You need to stop beating yourself up, alright? I'm here. And it doesn't matter what you do now because I am not leaving you again, understand?"

Rumple was very quiet. He was very deep in thought and Belle could see he was furious and trying to keep it under control. She took a step back. She knew he needed his space when he was like this.

"...Thank you for telling me this," he said softly. "Now if you excuse me, I need to go deal with something..."

"Rumple, no," she grabbed his arm before he could disappear. "No, you're not going to go to kill somebody."

"Belle, she is the reason you were tortured and beaten and gods know what else, she needs to pay!"

"Yes, she does," Belle said, "but not by you killing her."

"And how do you suggest I punish her? Give her a slap on the wrists and a warning not to bother you?!" he said, his voice raising. "Belle, you can't stop me! I have had enough of her schemes to separate you from me!"

"Rumple, please... you can go tomorrow," she said. "Please don't...don't ruin this day for me. Stay. You can go tomorrow, as long as you don't kill her."

Rumple was silent for a long time. "...Alright..."

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**DUN DUN DUN! So what will happen next? Will Rumple kill Regina? Will Belle really be enough to stop him form unleashing his wrath? Stay tuned, and please review!**

**Hugs and loves!**


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